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Waiter, There's Some Cannabis in My Tea

The USPTO has accepted the trademark application for New Age Beverages' CBD Tea Shot.

We might have to wait until Monday to get a better look at New Age Beverages Corp.'s (NASDAQ:NBEV) initial slate of products infused with cannabidiol (CBD) -- a cannabis component -- but we're now one step closer to knowing at least one of the ready-to-drink products' names. New Age Beverages' trademark application for the name CBD Tea Shot has been accepted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It will now be assigned to an examiner.

A trademark isn't a patent. We know that there are several companies working on CBD-infused beverages. Nobody will ever corner the market on CBD drinks. However, the companies vying for leadership in this niche will need to get their product brands front and center as soon as possible before the beverage giants gobble up valuable shelf space. New Age Beverages needs to move quickly if CBD Tea Shot wants a "shot" at this promising niche.

Image source: New Age Beverages.

Shot clock

The North American Convenience Store expo kicks off on Sunday, and New Age Beverages will be there to introduce its wares to convenience store operators, distributors, and inevitably investors. Wall Street will obviously be watching when New Age Beverages debuts its product line on Monday during the second day of the four-day trade show.

New Age Beverages has a growing portfolio of non-CBD products already on the market. It generated $52.2 million in sales last year through its existing lines of ready-to-drink teas, coffees, sparkling coconut water, and other functional beverages. In short, there's a real business to fall back on here if the CBD beverage craze dies under the weight of efficacy or legality concerns. The huge gains that New Age Beverages has scored over the past three weeks might not be sustainable if investors rotate out of marijuana-inspired investments, but at least there's a floor north of zero. The same can't be said for many of the more speculative high-flying marijuana stocks.

The next catalyst for New Age Beverages is naturally the North American Convenience Store show, and we'll know soon if it can live up to the hype that has turned the stock into nearly a six-bagger since the beginning of last month. Having its products in the wild will help set New Age Beverages apart from some of the more speculative names, but the stock's no longer valued as a company that generated $52.2 million in sales last year with revenue declining through the first six months of 2018. New Age Beverages in general -- and CBD Tea Shot in particular -- will have to resonate with consumers to keep the heady share price gains coming.

Author

Rick has been writing for Motley Fool since 1995 where he's a Consumer and Tech Stocks Specialist. Yes, that's a long time with more than 20,000 bylines over those 22 years. He's been an analyst for Motley Fool Rule Breakers and a portfolio lead analyst for Motley Fool Supernova since each newsletter service's inception. He earned his BBA and MBA from the University of Miami, and he splits his time living in Miami, Florida and Celebration, Florida.
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